Tibet

Fifty years after a failed revolt against Chinese rule, many Tibetans continue to push for greater freedoms. But their claims are plagued by mistrust, and hope for resolving the conflict seems remote as ever.

Asked by Brian Luckett, from Morgan State University September 23, 2013

There is little prospect Tibet will achieve full statehood in the foreseeable future. Apart from preservation of its own power, China's Communist Party's highest imperative is the territorial integrity of the country. It is determined to keep Tibet a part of China and thus far the world community has acquiesced in China's claim.

Please join Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, prime minister of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India, and political successor to the Dalai Lama, for a discussion on the situation of Tibet.

Robert J. Barnett, a leading expert on Tibet, says the Chinese government, which had hoped for a honeymoon period with the new Obama administration, is nervous as the fiftieth anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan revolt approaches.

The Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing has a new exhibit commemorating the "50th Anniversary of Democratic Reforms in Tibet," a sweeping masterpiece of propaganda that provides one of the few available glimpses of contemporary China.

Robert Barnett reviews Pico Iyer's account of the Dalai Lama. Barnett writes that while the book focuses on the Dalai Lama’s modern spirituality it has metamorphosed in light of the May 2008 Tibetan protests. The book now seems to touch on the question: "can a leader who aims to serve the spiritual yearnings of a world community deal with the specific needs of his nation?"

The unrest that is currently plaguing Tibet is only beign exacerbated by recent uprising and events that show how much influence the Chinese governement has over the domestic and international perception of the conflict in Tibet.

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The authors argue that the United States has responded inadequately to the rise of Chinese power and recommend placing less strategic emphasis on the goal of integrating China into the international system and more on balancing China's rise.

Campbell evaluates the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency and recommends that the United States support Nigerian efforts to address the drivers of Boko Haram, such as poverty and corruption, and to foster stronger ties with Nigerian civil society.

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